


Blunt

by volleyowlets



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Best Friend Bonding, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Parental divorce, Sibling Bonding, Supportive Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-02 04:28:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5234105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volleyowlets/pseuds/volleyowlets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What’s been happening lately?”<br/>“Nothing, I’m just tired.”<br/>"We're getting a divorce."<br/>He had expected it, just as his sister had expected it. </p><p>It was as simple as just four words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank tumblr user stressedanime for Beta-reading this for me because I know I can be a pain in the ass to get to cooperate. 
> 
> I would just like to say that my parents are not divorced and I have never gone through this situation myself. I am basing any and all reactions seen in this fic off of how my friends have responded. I have interpreted those reactions for characters within the fic and hope that you will understand that this is merely based my observations of friends and some research on the internet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fic I'm setting myself as something akin to a goal. It will be finished. I refuse to let this fic go unfinished because I know the direction it's going to go in for the most part. 
> 
> I rely on feedback though to keep myself motivated which is problematic, but I should have the second chapter ready to be posted in a couple of days, and once I know whether or not I'm going to have internet on my holiday I will post.
> 
> If you have any suggestions/feedback, please feel free to contact me at my haikyuu!! tumblr blog, volleyowlets.

“We’re getting a divorce.”

Those four words had brought Tanaka’s world crumbling down around him. He had expected it, just as his sister, Saeko, had expected it. It was bound to happen soon. The whole thing had been started when his father had been caught having an affair three times in the past year. Still, that hadn’t stopped him from clinging to the hope that they wouldn’t go through with it.

Tanaka loved his parents, but they’d been fighting more and more in the past couple of months. He didn’t blame his mum though. It was his dad’s fault, and he knew it.

“I know it’s hard, but we can’t live like this anymore,” his mum continued. “It’s just not working out.”

Tanaka’s eyes drifted to glare at the table in front of him. He could feel Saeko reach out to put her hand on his knee as if to say _‘Calm down Ryuu’_. His chest warmed with appreciation for his sister.

“How are the living arrangements going to be?” Saeko asked tentatively.

“We’re not sure yet, but your father is going to move out soon. It will be up to you who you want to live with.”

A tense silence settled over the table. It felt like his mother was waiting for him to say something. Tanaka stayed quiet, he didn’t think he’d be able to say anything without coming off as angry.

He was relieved when Saeko spoke again.

“’Kay. Do you mind if Ryuu and I go for a walk then?”

His mother looked at him and sighed.

“Of course,” she responded, nodding her head.

Saeko smiled at their mum. Standing up and stretching, she pulled her younger sibling from his seat with her. Tanaka shot her a glare, but didn’t argue as she dragged him toward the front door.

The siblings slipped their shoes on at the front door before walking out into the warm autumn breeze.

“Ryuu?” Saeko started, turning to look at him. “You okay?”

Tanaka sighed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I expected it.”

Saeko nodded, returning her gaze to the road ahead of them. It was nearing sunset and the sky was painted with orange and pink hues.

“It’ll be alright ya know,” Saeko assured, but it almost sounded forced, like she was trying to convince herself as well as Tanaka.

Tanaka glanced at his sister furrowing his brows.

“Yeah,” he paused. “That doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it though.”

He kicked a rock on the path in front of him, watching as it skittered across the road. It wasn’t fair. Even if he’d expected it, shouldn’t they have spoken to their children to make sure they were comfortable first? He supposed that he could have objected earlier. What was the point though when they’d already told them they were getting a divorce?

“Why’d dad have to do it?” he asked, his voice no louder than a whisper.

He turned his eyes to the sky that stretched above their heads and saw Saeko shrug out the corner of his eye.

“I don’t know. Sometimes these things happen Ryuu, and you just have to accept them. It’s not our fault.”

The two stopped as they reached a small park with a playground. It was empty as they made their way to sit on the swings. They dragged their feet through the bark that covered the ground surrounding the playground.

It was peaceful here, and allowed the younger sibling to gather his thoughts. The only sounds made were ones of nature, besides the soft creaking from the chains of the swings.

“How long do you think they’ve talked about this?” Tanaka found himself asking.

Saeko’s face scrunched up before she replied.

“I don’t know. Probably a few weeks. You know mum wouldn’t allow anything to be said without some thought going into it.”

Tanaka made a sound of agreement and allowed silence to settle over the playground again. It was getting dark, and they should definitely be thinking about leaving to go home soon. Tanaka didn’t know if he was ready to face his parents yet though. He sure as hell wasn’t ready to go to bed either, which was where he’d go if they went home now.

He didn’t know how well he was going to sleep tonight, but he knew that he was bound to sleep worse than normal. His sleeping habits had always been affected by his emotions. If he was comfortable and nothing particularly exciting was happening in his life, he would sleep fine. But if something was bothering him he would sleep awfully. It had been a while since he had slept badly from over-excitement or extreme sadness. He’d learnt to keep most of his emotions in check enough for that. This divorce was something he knew he wouldn’t be able to do that with though.

Tanaka was brought out of his thoughts to a hand shoved in front his face and he looked up to see his sister’s soft smile.

“Come on Ryuu, we should get home. I’ll make dinner while you take a bath,” she said.

* * *

 

By the time Tanaka had taken a bath and eaten dinner Saeko had made, he was beginning to get tired. He wandered up the stairs to his bedroom, hearing music playing as he passed Saeko’s room. He paused at the door, knocking so he could say goodnight.

“Come in,” he heard Saeko call, allowing him to open the door.

Poking his head in the door, he saw his sister sitting on her bed with a magazine in hand. He imagined his best friend, Noya, seeing her reading a magazine. Knowing his friend, he’d probably start reading magazines under the pretence that it’s cool. Not that Tanaka could see it, his sister could be the biggest pain in the ass when she wanted to be.

“Goodnight Sis,” he said with a small smile.

“G’night Ryuu,” she returned.

He closed the door, continuing to his bedroom. Upon closing his own bedroom door and, leaning against it, he let out a long and loud sigh. He changed into pyjama pants and dived into the pillow on his bed, hoping it’d help.

It didn’t.

Tanaka was grateful to Saeko. He had calmed down to the idea that his parents were getting divorced since their walk to the park. Neither of their parents had been around when they’d gotten home. A note on the kitchen bench had said they had gone out to visit his Aunt’s houses for the night. That was the only reason either of them knew where their parents were.

Saeko was good at reading him. It was probably because they were siblings. She’d known him since he was born so it might’ve been weird if she wasn’t able to read him. It meant she knew when he needed her to intervene and when she knew he could handle things on his own.

It was nice. He could count on her when he needed her.

He flipped over on to his back, staring at the ceiling. It was going to be a long, sleepless night.

* * *

 

It was the first time in a while that Tanaka completely missed morning practice the next morning. It earned him a scolding from coach Ukai. The day ended with Daichi telling him that he needed to stop staying up late playing videogames.

He didn’t feel the need to tell them he’d gone to bed earlier than he usually did.

The days following the first night were no better. He missed another morning practice and fell asleep in more classes than normal.

By the end of the week, he knew that Takeda, their club advisor, had been told of his sleeping in class. He knew that meant that Ukai knew too. Especially given the look that his coach was sending him throughout all of practice.

“Nice receive!” Daichi called to Nishinoya.

Noya sent the ball flying into the air, allowing Suga to set the ball. As the ball got closer to Suga, Tanaka started his run up, ready to spike as Suga tossed toward him. Tanaka swung his arm forward, going to spike the ball. Upon hitting the ball something felt off.

The ball hadn’t connected with his palm like it usually did. It spun to the side, landing on his side of the net too fast for their anyone to react. As he landed he frowned, and saw Suga look at him with a bewildered look. That had been the winning point for the other half of the Karasuno team on the other side of the net.  

He knew it had been a perfect toss, but something was wrong. It was something in himself, he knew it.

“Sorry Suga! My bad,” Tanaka said brushing it off and walking away to get a drink.

He could hear his teammates whispering amongst themselves, he even saw Ennoshita talking to Noya. Takeda was standing beside Ukai as they announced that practice was over. They told the team could clean up and get changed. Tanaka helped packing the net away before heading for the change rooms for a shower.

No one had said a word to him since his mistake earlier but he didn’t mind. All he wanted right now was to sleep, but sleep hadn’t been coming easily lately.

“Tanaka,” Ukai called across the court. “Come here for a second.”

Tanaka paused and walked back across the court to stand in front of his coach. He was well aware of the concerned glanced his teammates were sending him as they left for the change rooms, but he acted oblivious.

“Yes coach?” Tanaka said.

“You okay?” Ukai frowned.

Takeda had must have mentioned that Tanaka had been falling asleep in classes more. That and his earlier mishap would be the only reason Ukai would ask.

Tanaka plastered a smile on his face.

“I’m fine Coach, what’re ya worried about?”

Ukai looked like he wanted to say something but kept it to himself. He waved the shaven teen away with a comment about sleeping early so he wouldn’t be as tired at practice the next day. Tanaka took the opportunity to leave.

As he entered the change room the first years were leaving. He heard mumbled goodbyes leaving their mouths as they passed by him. The third years were just behind them, followed by the second years. Noya was the only other person left in the change room, still only wearing a towel.

Noya didn’t need to speak for Tanaka to know what he was about to ask.

“Ryuu, what’s up with you today?” the short male asked.

Tanaka grabbed his towel, heading for the showers. Listening as Noya got changed as he thought. He could tell Noya what had happened, but he didn’t have to.

“Ah, I’m just tired. Stayed up too late again last night,” he laughed out.

It wasn’t a lie, just not the whole truth.

For a second Noya was quiet and Tanaka worried that the shorter male wasn’t going to believe his excuse. A loud ‘okay’ that echoed through the room as he turned the water off proved otherwise.

Exiting the shower, wearing only his towel, Tanaka found Noya tying his shoelaces. The shorter, but elder of the two, was humming to himself as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Tanaka was glad his friend was easily satisfied.

“I’m gonna head out with Asahi today. See ya Ryuu!” Noya said, as he finished tying his laces and grabbed his bag to run out the change room door.

Tanaka let out a huff of amusement as he change back into his school uniform, taking as little time as possible. He couldn’t keep the third years waiting after all, they probably wanted to go home.

Finishing up with putting his shoes on, Tanaka grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He checked over the change room to make sure no one had left anything before exiting. He saw Suga and Daichi talking near the door of the gym, waiting for him to finish. He hurried to get to the door, saying goodbye to the pair as he left.

Tanaka got as far as the gate before someone grabbed his arm. He almost turned to hit the person, fist clenched in an immediate response. Upon realising who it was Tanaka let out a breath of relief.

It was Ennoshita.

“Tanaka,” Ennoshita started, looking unsure how to continue but continuing on. “What’s been happening lately?”

Tanaka raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing, I’m just tired is all,” he replied.

Ennoshita frowned.

“Don’t give me that Tanaka. You’ve been missing morning practice completely, sleeping through classes, and then this afternoon. That should’ve been a perfect spike for you, but you hit it wrong.”

Tanaka sighed.

“Really, I’m fine. I haven’t been sleeping well, okay?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. Does there need to be a reason?”

“Yes.”

“Well there’s not.”

Tanaka was allowing frustration to put bite to his words.

“Don’t give me that! That’s what you told Nishinoya. He may be willing to accept that but I’m not. We all know you let your emotions get to you sometimes,” Ennoshita said.

“Well I’m fine!” Tanaka returned, causing Ennoshita to let out a groan of frustration.

“No you’re not!” Ennoshita paused. “Why won’t you just let someone help you? I want to understand Tanaka. I want to help you. But I can’t do anything unless you tell me what’s wrong with you.”

Tanaka closed his eyes, counting to ten in his head to gather his thoughts. He knew Ennoshita meant well. He was a good friend. He understood how others felt and tried to make them feel better. He protected those who needed help when he could. There was no reason not to tell him.

Thinking about it, Tanaka didn’t know why he wasn’t telling anyone. He supposed it was the idea that they’d pity him. Pity was the last thing he wanted.

But then again, he supposed it couldn’t hurt to tell one person, Ennoshita might even help a bit. He’d make sure that his homework got done at the very least.

With that decision, Tanaka took a deep breath before speaking.

“My parents are getting a divorce.”

Ennoshita stared back at him, dark brown eyes blinking in the setting sunlight. A few emotions flashed across his face, sympathy among them, but settled on understanding.

“Okay, so the stress is keeping you up at night, right?”

Tanaka nodded.

“And this has been going on all week, yes?”

Another nod.

“Well, we just have to teach you how to deal with it then,” Ennoshita said with a smile.

Tanaka frowned. Ennoshita said it like it would be easy to get over this. It wouldn’t be easy though. He knew that. Nothing was ever that easy.

“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Ennoshita smirked.

“How did you-? But I didn’t say anything,” Tanaka said, confusion showing on his face.

“You didn’t need to.”

Tanaka looked at Ennoshita. Of course he didn’t. Ennoshita just knew, he understood how Tanaka’s mind worked. Ennoshita understood him.

With another smile, Ennoshita gave his shoulder a nudge.

“Come on, let’s go home. I’ll help you tomorrow.”

“But we don’t have school tomorrow?” Tanaka said, a questioning tone entering his voice.

Ennoshita sighed.

“I know.”

“So, are you gonna come over?” Tanaka was still confused.

Ennoshita rolled his eyes.

“I was thinking you could come to my house, but yours works fine too. Which would you prefer?”

Tanaka thought for a moment.

If Ennoshita came to his house he could sleep in, but he’d also never been to the other’s house before. But he was lacking sleep, the extra time in bed might help him.

He heard a laugh from his side.

“I’ll go to your house then, so you can stay in bed until I get there,” Ennoshita said.

Tanaka gave him a smile.

“Alright!”

The two walked in relative silence for a while, until they reached the crossroad Tanaka turned at. The corner was well-lit, but the lighting got dimmer further down the road.

“Well I’m gonna head this way,” Tanaka said, gesturing to his right.

Ennoshita nodded.

“Alright. I’ll see you in the morning then?”

“Yeah, see you then. Not before eleven though!” He said, causing a chuckle to bubble its way out of Ennoshita’s mouth.

“Yeah okay, not before eleven.”

With a final smile, the pair went their different directions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the feedback on the first chapter! I was definitely not expecting so many people to read it!  
> I would like to thank stressedanime again for being my beta for this fic! 
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter :3  
> Also, I'm going on holiday tomorrow morning, I'm not sure when I'll have access to wifi so chapter 3 might be posted sometime in the next week, otherwise I'll definitely update as soon as I'm home in two weeks!

“Ryuu!”

Tanaka rolled over and groaned into his pillow. Of course his sister would wake him up. He glanced at the clock beside his bed. 9:20.

Shoving his face back into his pillow, Tanaka pulled his blankets up over his head.

“It’s too early,” He said, his words muffled by the pillow.

“Nuh-uh! Get up lazy bones, I’m going out today so I need you to be up and watching the house.”

Tanaka huffed. He’d told her last night that he was gonna sleep in before Ennoshita came over. Why didn’t she ever listen?

“I can watch the house from my bed,” he grumbled, feeling a weight settle on the side of the bed.

“Oh yeah? And when you fall asleep who’s going to let your friend in?” Saeko’s voice came, before his blankets were torn away from his body.

He curled up, bringing his knees up to his chin, and whined.

“Go away.”

He heard his sister let out a deep breath.

“Ryuu. You will get up before I leave this house, and I won’t be late just because you couldn’t be bothered moving,” she said, standing up and grabbing at one of his ankles.

She pulled his leg toward the bottom of his bed. Tanaka grabbed for the bed head, wrapping a hand around one of the posts. He knew that her goal was now to wake him up enough that he wouldn’t go back to sleep.

“Why do I have to get up? What’s got you in such a rush?” He asked crankily, cracking one eye open to glare at his sister.

“Because I have places to be! So get your lazy butt up and down to that kitchen for breakfast,” she said.

“I don’t wanna.”

Saeko sighed.

“Just this once? You can sleep in any other day,” she said.

Rolling over, Tanaka eyed her skeptically, taking in her appearance. She wore her white skinny jeans with a black top. She had her nails freshly painted, and she looked like she was going to kill someone in style.

“What’re you doing?” He asked. “If I have to get up, you tell me why you’re going out.”

He felt like a toddler demanding to know why he couldn’t go to the park. He had no right to know what she was doing with her time, she was five years older than him.

Saeko had raised an eyebrow and put her hand on her hip. Tanaka watched as her expression morphed into one she used to intimidate.

“Ryuu,” she started. “I am going out with a friend. You are going to get out of bed and watch the house. Now move it.”

Her tone was icy as she spoke, though Tanaka wasn’t sure why. This was how most mornings went for the pair of them. She’d come to wake him, he’d complain, they’d laugh, and then they’d get on with their lives.

Groaning, Tanaka rolled out of bed. Light drifted through cracks in the curtain as he dug through his wardrobe for some clothes. Once he’d found a suitable shirt he headed for the shower.

The shower water woke him up. It was cool on his skin, and allowed for him to clear his head. He had to be quick though, Saeko could be unforgiving when she was in a bad mood.

Turning the water off and drying himself with a towel, Tanaka pulled on a pair of jeans before leaving the bathroom. He walked down to the kitchen where his sister was sitting on the bench, presumably waiting for him.

“About time you got in here,” she said, moving to stand. “There’s food in the fridge if you get hungry, but cook whatever you want.”

“I will,” he responded.

“Okay, and don’t forget to keep an ear open for the door. Who knows when mum or dad will be home today,” Saeko said, picking up her handbag and slinging it over her shoulder.

Tanaka nodded. It was nearing ten o’clock now. Surely his sister had somewhere to be, given the rush she’d been in earlier. He just needed to waste some time now before Ennoshita came over.

“I’ll be going then,” Saeko said. “I’ll be home for dinner, okay?”

“Yeah, bye,” he replied.

“Bye!”

And Tanaka was alone in the kitchen again. With a huff he went to make himself breakfast before settling in front of the television to watch a movie. He had to do something to fill the time before Ennoshita arrived.

* * *

 

There was only another ten minutes left of the movie when he heard a knock on the front door. Ennoshita.

Tanaka took his dirty plate to the kitchen before walking down the small hallway to the front door. As he flung the door open, a wide smile covered his face. Ennoshita was there, he was going to help him deal with whatever his parents were doing.

It was going to be fine.

It was going to be okay.

“Hey Ennoshita!” He boomed, his sleepy-looking friend not batting an eyelid at his antics.

“You’re in a good mood,” Ennoshita said, looking at him skeptically. “Why?”

“Do I need a reason?” He asked, moving from the doorway to let Ennoshita enter the house.

Ennoshita sighed, taking of his shoes.

“I suppose not. Sorry for the intrusion,” he muttered.

The pair walked deeper into the house, Ennoshita stopping in the lounge to see the end of the movie playing. They were both as they stood behind the couch, watching the scene end.

“The directing wasn’t very good in that movie you know,” Ennoshita said, and Tanaka looked at him with a frown.

“I like that movie though. It’s a good movie,” he said.

Ennoshita chuckled.

“It has a decent plotline, yes. But from a cinematic point of view, it’s not that great of a movie.”

Tanaka had the audacity to look personally offended. He didn’t mean it of course, Ennoshita was the movie buff among the second years. He was probably the movie buff of the town given how often he was known to watch movies. He had a habit of taking notes on the good and bad points of the direction.

“Sorry Tanaka, but it’s the truth,” Ennoshita said with a smile.

“Fine. Come on, you should probably put your bag down somewhere,” Tanaka huffed, causing Ennoshita to laugh.

They wandered through the house to Tanaka’s bedroom. There, Ennoshita put his bag down next to the wall, before straightening to look at Tanaka. The ever-present sleepy expression on his face lifted slightly as he smiled.

“So what exactly is it that’s been getting you so worked up? Besides this divorce thing,” Ennoshita said, straight to the point, as usual.

It was enough to catch Tanaka off guard. He hadn’t really put much thought into it, just accepted that it was the divorce causing his lack of sleep. Trying to maintain peace at home was becoming a struggle he supposed. His father hadn’t found a place to live yet and his mum continued to complain about it over dinner. It was infuriating.

The addition of schoolwork getting heaped on him more and more was annoying. Not that he’d ever actually completed it too often. He only ever had to sit through detention for sleeping in class or not completing the homework a few times.

Volleyball was getting harder to work through. He was so tired that his reaction time was getting worse. Sometimes he’d just want to go take a nap, despite volleyball getting him so fired up. It rarely affected his performance enough for the rest of the team to notice, but he could feel it.

Tanaka took a few moments to realise Ennoshita was still waiting for an answer. He wasn’t pressuring him for an answer though, which was good he guessed. Ennoshita was patient while he waited until Tanaka let out a sigh.

“I don’t know.”

Ennoshita raised an eyebrow. Tanaka doubted he’d expected much more than that. He had probably been hoping for at least one possible reason though.

“Okay then,” Ennoshita said. “We’ll start with reducing some of the stressed caused by school then.”

Tanaka groaned, he could sense where this was going and wanted to hit himself. Of course Ennoshita would immediately go for school stress. In fairness, it would probably help a little. He may not do the work, but it did sit in the back of his mind a little bit at night.

“Come on, you’re going to do your homework for once in your life,” Ennoshita said as he took a book out of his bag that was clearly not school related.

Of course Ennoshita would make him do work, all the while he sat reading a sci-fi book he’d brought along for himself.

“Why do I have to do it?” Tanaka complained.

“Because you keep falling asleep in classes.”

Ennoshita paused at the look Tanaka shot him before providing an explanation.

“I overheard Takeda-sensei talking to coach about it.”

“You mean you were eavesdropping,” Tanaka replied with a snort.

Ennoshita shrugged.

“Whatever you want to call it Tanaka. The point is, you need to at least keep up with the course. If you don’t then you’ll fall behind again and then you’ll have the added stress before exams start.”

He knew Ennoshita was right. He did have a tendency to fall behind. It caused him a bit of stress before exams because he knew Ennoshita would be tutoring him and Noya harshly. With a sigh, he grabbed his school bag, taking the weekends homework out and laying it in front of him.

Math, Modern Japanese Literature, and English, the worst subjects to have homework for. He glanced at Ennoshita, who had already begun reading his book on the floor. Better to start sooner and finish earlier he supposed. Ennoshita wouldn’t let him do anything else until it was done.

He tried to work quietly as his friend read, but it was only silent for half an hour before Tanaka turned around with a frustrated groan. He was stuck. English was too hard.

“Ennoshita,” he groaned, drawing the a-sound out at the end. “I don’t get it.”

He saw the raven-haired man roll his eyes before slipping a bookmark into his book and coming to stand behind Tanaka’s chair.

“Well you were working without help for longer than I expected you to be. What are you doing?” Ennoshita questioned.

“English,” came the mumbled reply, frustration etched into Tanaka’s brow.

The struggling boy heard a huff of amusement in his ear and turned to protest only to find his friend’s face much closer than he’d expected. His heart raced from the slight scare of Ennoshita’s face being so close to his own, but he controlled it as soon as the other started explaining the work.

“So here you’ve just got to put the right word into the blank spaces so that the passage makes sense. What word should go in this space here?” Ennoshita asked, pointing to the first blank space.

_When the dog left his owner, the owner placed () around the () to find him._

He tried to remember his last English class. It had been in the afternoon yesterday, about the time that he’d dosed off for an afternoon nap. He regretted that.

“I wasn’t awake when we learnt it,” he sighed, knowing Ennoshita would’ve figured that out soon enough anyway.

The other boy sighed.

“Okay then,” Ennoshita began, continuing on to explain all the words and eventually helping with the rest of his English homework.

Upon starting his Japanese literature homework, Tanaka realised it was going to be a long day.

* * *

 

It was nearing two o’clock by the time Tanaka finished his first two subjects of homework. Only math remained, but his stomach growling had become constant for nearly an hours now. No matter how he’d whined to Ennoshita, he hadn’t been allowed to eat anything yet.

As he put his pen down, Ennoshita let out a tired sigh.

“Can we eat now?” Tanaka found himself asking.

Ennoshita nodded.

“Yeah, I’m starting to get hungry.”

Tanaka let out a relieved breath. Thank the heavens Ennoshita had agreed. If he’d had to complete math homework with an empty stomach, he might’ve been hungry for another two hours and that made for a grumpy teenager.

“What do you want to eat?” Tanaka asked as they wandered into the kitchen.

The shaven boy opened the fridge, Saeko had said there was food in there. She hadn’t been lying, there was a couple of rice balls there. There was fruit too, neatly chopped up and placed on a plate.

His sister was really prepared, she must’ve been up early to prepare food like this.

“You pick, I don’t mind what we eat,” Ennoshita said, leaning against the countertop behind Tanaka.

Tanaka took the plate of fruit out of the fridge. They could have the rice balls later if they were still hungry.

Setting the plate down on the bench and pulling over two seats, Tanaka gestured for Ennoshita to eat some of the fruit. As they began to eat lunch, Ennoshita started talking about movies.

“The actors were stiff, and in that movie it’s most likely because the director had a clear image in his mind of how he wanted it to come out. So the actors didn’t get to use their talent as such. Then there was the angles the movie was shot from. They were terrible. If they’d centred in on the female lead in the forest that scene could’ve been so much better.”

Despite not knowing anything about movies and how the director affected it, Tanaka found himself smiling. He rarely got the opportunity to listen to Ennoshita talk about something he enjoyed. Outside of volleyball of course. It was refreshing.

It wasn’t until he saw the pink flush on Ennoshita’s cheeks that he realised the raven had stopped talking. It was an odd change from the way that the other usually acted around him. He supposed they spoke most when Tanaka was failing classes though.

“Sorry, I got carried away,”  Ennoshita said.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s interesting stuff,” Tanaka replied. “Not that I understood most of it, but it’s fine.”

“You’re a piece of work, ya know that?” Ennoshita laughed, causing Tanaka to smile.

“I try,” he replied smugly.

It wasn’t long before the pair had fallen into a comfortable silence. Tanaka thought about the day so far.

He was grateful to Ennoshita for coming over. It was nice to spend time with him, without the pressure of studying for an exam. Listening to Ennoshita talk had been soothing. It kept his mind off of everything that had been happening lately.

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

Judging by the look on the other boys face, Tanaka had taken Ennoshita by surprise. He continued before the other could say a word.  
“Thank you for everything today. It’s been,” he paused, searching for a word to use. “It’s been nice.”

So much for trying to articulate his thoughts, but Ennoshita didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s fine. I know it can be hard. It’s probably not a suitable comparison but Kinoshita reacted worse when his girlfriend dumped him last year.” He paused before continuing, “So you’re doing pretty well I’d say.”

Tanaka couldn’t help the laugh that fell from his mouth. It was loud and obnoxious, but it was the laugh he’d needed.

“Did he? I don’t remember that,” Tanaka continued to laugh.

Ennoshita nodded, a smile forming on his lips.

Tanaka’s laughed subsided as a yawn crawled its way up his throat. It reminded him of how tired he really felt, and just how much he hadn’t been sleeping.

“Ah come on sleepy head, you’ve gotta finished that math homework before I leave,” Ennoshita said, standing up and offering a hand to the other male.

Tanaka took the offered hand, an odd looking pout gracing his features as the two wandered down the hall.

As soon as they reached the bedroom again, Ennoshita was sitting Tanaka down at the desk, telling him he could finish his homework within the hour if he tried. He worked for nearly twenty minutes before another yawn came, his eyes slipping closed for a few seconds.

“Tanaka,” Ennoshita spoke, looking up from him book.

The warning was clear in his voice, and Tanaka forced his eyes open. _Focus_ , he told himself. It was just a little bit of math, he could definitely do it. But closing his eyes for a minute couldn’t possibly hurt too much. 

* * *

 

 He was lying down on something soft, that much he could tell. He was vaguely aware that there was movement coming from down the hall too. He blinked his eyes open, sitting up in what he identified to be his bed.

 _What am I doing here?_ He thought. _I was doing homework before. Where’s Ennoshita?_

Tanaka stood and left his bedroom. Whoever was in the kitchen was making far too much noise to continue sleeping, and now he was curious.

Turning into the kitchen, Tanaka saw a mess of blonde hair. Of course Saeko would be making too much noise in the kitchen. Another look around the kitchen and Tanaka realised she was being a bit too aggressive to just be cooking.

“Uh, sis? Are you okay?” He asked, taking a step into the room.

Saeko paused, turning to look at him. She looked angry.

“No, Ryuu. Go away.”

He frowned. Something must’ve happened while she’d been out.

“What happened?”

“Go away Ryuu.”

“No, tell me.”

He watched as his sister turned away from him again, her shoulders tense. Surely she wasn’t going to give him the silent treatment.

“Mum saw me today while I was out,” she started. “She started yelling at me that I shouldn’t be out with boys because they’ll just run off with the next pretty lady they find.”

Tanaka nodded. He’d a feeling his parents had something to do with it.

“So you had a fight with mum, anything else?” He tried.

Saeko shook her head, turning back to look at him. She looked upset still. Taking three steps to cover the distance between them, Tanaka wrapped her in a hug. He couldn’t offer much, but hugs helped didn’t they? He could’ve sworn he’d read something that said they reduced sadness. As Saeko’s arms came to wrap around his back, he could tell that she appreciated the gesture.

“Thanks Ryuu,” Saeko said, exhaling as she released her hold on him.

As they parted a thought seemed to occur to her.

“Oh, your friend, Chikara right? He left a while ago, his mum called him and asked him to go home but he didn’t want to wake you,” she explained.

Tanaka nodded his acknowledgement as Saeko served out their dinner. Rice with curried chicken and vegetables.

The pair talked about their day as they ate. Saeko’s outing with a friend had gone well aside from the meeting with their mother. Not that Tanaka truly believed that it wasn’t a date, Saeko seemed far too excited about it for that.

Tanaka spoke of how he’d broken his brain from doing his homework, causing Saeko to laugh at him, and ask how Ennoshita had managed that. He’d probably kill a man if Ennoshita gave him reason to though, he was a convincing kid.

Soon the siblings finished eating. They washed and cleaned their dishes, before they retired to their rooms to do their own thing.

Tanaka played videogames for a few hours before he decided he was tired enough to go to sleep. He tidied his desk before hand, discovering a short note sitting over the top of his incomplete math homework.

_Tanaka, you looked like you needed the sleep so I moved you to your bed. Please finish your homework before your next math class. Tell me if you need anything. Ennoshita._

Tanaka fell asleep with a smile on his face that night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to stressedanime again for beta reading this a bit, and to the bestest friend ever who also read this and said it was fine. 
> 
> I'm not back from my holiday yet so this is a rare update that you'll get! The next chapter should be longer though. Please enjoy and thanks for the feedback on the last chapter! :) xx

_Thud._

Hinata’s last spike hit the ground behind Tanaka, marking the end of the second set.

“Alright take a break and drink some water,” Coach Ukai called from the sideline where he’d been blowing the whistle.

Tanaka let out a heavy breath. One set to each team. He walked toward the benches where all the water bottles were being kept. He picked one up, squeezing the bottle to get more water into his mouth with each sip.

He could feel eyes watching him, but upon looking around he couldn’t see anyone looking his way. Noya was annoying Asahi, Suga and Daichi were talking over by the net, the first years had disappeared, probably outside, Narita and Kinoshita were standing together with their arms crossed and Ennoshita wasn’t too far from them. But something was odd, and after a moment, Tanaka realised what it was. Narita and Kinoshita were staring at Ennoshita venomously. Tanaka looked at them in bewilderment. Why were the other second years looking at Ennoshtia like that?. The raven second year looked like he was shrinking, trying to disappear out of sight from the burning gaze of his teammates.

Tanaka felt a wave of emotion come over him, making him want to protect Ennoshita from his own friends.

“Oi, Ryuu,” Nishinoya called across the gym.

Tanaka turned toward his best friend, letting the possessive feeling fade as he walked over to the shorter male.

“Yes?” He inquired, coming to a stop in front of his friend.

“What do ya think is happenin’ over there?” Noya asked, gesturing toward the other second years.

Tanaka shrugged. He had only just been wondering that himself.

“I dunno. They look angry at Ennoshita though,” He found himself saying.

Noya hummed his agreement, glancing curiously toward the others. Looking at his face, Tanaka wondered what the libero was thinking about. He didn’t have to give it much thought though.

“Kazu, Hisashi, why are you staring at Chikara like that,” the short male asked.

The other second years turned to glance at Tanaka and Noya. The hostility in their glares were wiped from their faces, though neither smiled. Instead they seemed to be staring directly into Tanaka’s soul.

“No reason.”

“It’s fine.”

Noya stared back skeptically. Tanaka began to feel uncomfortable.

“Okay,” Noya called, turning back to Tanaka as their coach called them all back to play the last set of their practice match. “There is definitely something happening over there.”

Tanaka could only agree.

* * *

From: Tora

>Guess what bro?!

 

To: Tora

>You finally got your captain to buy you food???

>Your lil bro finally said your name properly??

 

From: Tora

>No

>Mika-chan said yes!!

>I got a girlfriend!

 

Tanaka smiled. He knew Tora would be able to get a girlfriend if he stuck with it. He’d seen photos of Mika-chan. She was cute, always wearing her hair in a ponytail. He was pretty sure that Tora had mentioned that the girl was on the Nekoma Tennis team.

 

To: Tora

>Congrats bro!

>When’s your first date?

 

From: Tora

>This Saturday

>We’re going to see that new comedy movie

 

To: Tora

>Make sure you pay for her ticket and the movie snacks bro

>She’s gotta know you appreciate her too

>So compliment her when you see her

 

Tanaka was proud of Tora. His friend deserved this happiness. He didn’t even feel jealous of Tora’s newfound love, he was content to know that he was happy.

Tanaka supposed he always had Kiyoko to fall back on, not that the elder girl liked him. He never even truly had a crush on her, if he was being honest. There was the instant crush on her appearance, but other than that, he had felt no connection.

 

From: Tora

>I will bro

>This is the best day of my life

 

The longer he thought about it, Tanaka wasn’t sure that he’d ever had a crush. He wasn’t sure how a crush was supposed to make you feel, or how to identify that feeling.

Perhaps someone else would know. He’d have to ask Saeko.

* * *

“Sis?” Tanaka asked, peering around the door to his sister’s bedroom.

Saeko looked up from where she was repainting her dark red nails. She smiled upon seeing her brother in the doorway.

“Come in Ryuu! What did you need?” She asked, moving over so he could sit on the other side of her bed.

Tanaka moved to sit with her, thinking about how the best way to word his question. He supposed he’d have to be blunt about it though if he wanted a proper answer. Tanaka took a deep breath.

“What does it feel like when you like someone?”

Saeko paused in painting her nails to frown. She tilted her head to the side and stared at him. She watched him, her gaze calculating. It was as if she was trying to figure out a reason why her little brother would be asking that question. Trying to decipher whether or not he was just speculating or that there was something more behind the question.

“Well, it’s like, you can’t see that person enough. You always want to be with them and it hurts when you’re away from them,” Saeko paused to collect her thoughts. “You think they’re gorgeous no matter how they look at any time of the day and you want to wake up beside them.”

Tanaka nodded. That made sense, he’d never felt all of those at the same time though. He mostly just had the thought that people were beautiful, no matter whether they were a boy or girl.

“Oh,” he found himself saying.

Saeko raised her eyebrow at him.

“Oh?” She asked. “Is something bothering you Ryuu?”

Tanaka looked down to the floor beside the bed. Was there something? He felt like there was, but he didn’t know what it could be.

“I,” he started. “I don’t know.”

Saeko nodded in understanding. Bless his sister.

“Well if there’s anything, just let me know will ya. I’m here for ya whenever ya need me,” she said happily.

“I will.”

He got up to leave the room after watching Saeko finish off her nails. He was getting tired and his performance at practice hadn’t improved too much. Although, he’d improved just enough that he didn’t get odd looks from his teammates all the time.

“Hey Ryuu?” Saeko called. “Why don’t you ask Yuu to go with you to buy some new knee pads tomorrow? You mentioned needing some didn’t you? And then he can stay the night too.”

Tanaka nodded.

“Yeah, I might do that. Goodnight,” he said, shutting the door.

“Goodnight,” she called.

Hopefully tomorrow would be a nice shopping trip.

* * *

 

“Oi, Ryuu!”

Tanaka turned his head, only to see Nishinoya climbing atop a chair and jumping to try reach the volleyball he wanted. Of course Noya wouldn’t ask for help like a sensible human being.

“What?” Tanaka asked, coming to stand beside his friend.

“Get me that volleyball. That one, right there,” he said.

Tanaka stared blankly at Noya for a moment, not moving to get the ball down until his friend frowned and looked like he was about to hit him. The shorter male could be scary when he wanted to be.

“Yeah, yeah. Here ya go,” Tanaka said, passing the ball down. “Now where are the kneepads again?”

“Back corner Ryuu.”

The pair wandered over to the back to look at the wall filled with different types of volleyball kneepads. There were kneepads with extra padding, kneepads with less padding, and those with normal padding. They were all sorted in rows of different sizes.

Noya looked up and down Tanaka’s form before looking toward the Medium sizes and picking out a set of kneepads with an extra layer of foam padding in them.

“You usually get the ones with normal padding right? These ones should hold up better and protect your knees more,” the smaller male said, handing the kneepads over.

They made their way to the counter to pay for their supplies, heading back out into the street afterward and looking to the sky.

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon,” Noya observed. “Where’d you wanna go next?”

Tanaka glanced around the street. He needed some new clothes, most of his current wardrobe was beginning to thin and was starting to fall apart.

“Clothes,” Tanaka muttered. “That store over there.”

Nishinoya grinned.

“Okay!”

* * *

“So what’s actually been happening with you lately Ryuu?”

Tanaka paused in taking a bite of his burger. He hadn’t thought that he had been letting on that something was bothering him. He had mostly gotten over the immediate effects of his parents divorce, or at least he had accepted them. Besides, Ennoshita was helping him. Ennoshita had come over again since the first day he’d helped with Tanaka’s homework. They had watched movies together that day, and played MarioKart for an hour or two before Ennoshita had gone home.

Tanaka knew he probably owed Nishinoya the truth. His friend wasn’t totally oblivious, he just knew the signs when he didn’t want to talk about it.

“My parents are getting divorced,” he said, taking another bite of his burger. “Messed with my head a bit, but Ennoshita’s been helping me.”

Noya looked betrayed for a split second before a grin spread across his face.

“Oh, is that all? Ya should’ve just told me Ryuu!” He laughed. “I would’ve helped ya too!”

Tanaka smiled.

“Nah it’s fine. Ennoshita’s helping enough. Nothing more you could do really.”

Noya frowned, looking insulted.

“Oh, okay.”

His frown didn’t last for long before his face lit up with joy. Tanaka raised one thin eyebrow at that. His smaller friend was far happier than he usually was when they went out. Although, there was a hesitant look in the way his eyes crinkled.

“What’s up?” Tanaka asked.

Noya looked thoughtful, as though debating in an internal conflict with himself. His expression turned to one of hesitance as he spoke.

“So you know how I’ve been spending a lot more time with Asahi lately, right?” Noya started.

Tanaka nodded. He’d noticed how Noya would always leave practice with their teams Ace now. They were both seemingly content to walk home together since they lived in the same neighbourhood.

“Well, I think,” Nishinoya paused, drawing a deep breath to calm himself. “I think I might like Asahi.”

Tanaka stared at his friend, watching as the others face grew bright red. He smiled at the other though. He was happy that Nishinoya had found someone he was comfortable enough around to come to have feelings for the elder male. It had come as a slight surprise that his smaller friend had feelings for another guy.

Noya was starting to look uncomfortable.

“Say something Ryuu,” Noya said.

Tanaka smiled as he spoke, “Well, what do you want me to say? It’s great that you feel like that I guess.”

Noya frowned.

“I mean, I _like_ Asahi.”

“I know you do,” Tanaka sighed. “And I mean that it’s good. Did you expect me to say ‘that’s disgusting’ or something? Geez, don’t ya think I’m better than that?”

“I didn’t say that!” Noya said, raising his voice slightly. “But I couldn’t just expect you to be all happy. You’re the only person I’ve told.”

Tanaka put the chip he had in his fingers down at that. He was the only person that Noya had told? Sure they were best friends, but Noya usually spoke to his father first. Noya and his dad had a great relationship as far as Tanaka knew, he didn’t know why his friend would come to him first.

“You haven’t told your family?” Tanaka decided to ask, perhaps he could get a reason for not telling them.

Nishinoya shook his head.

“They’re amazing, and I don’t think they’d freak out too much, but Mum’s side of the family is super religious,” Noya said. “They’ve never really said anything nice about guys who would like to date other guys.”

Oh. That was why. Tanaka supposed it was fair that Noya wouldn’t want to tell his family. Not if that was their views on the topic. Noya looked into Tanaka’s eyes.

“If you were,” Noya paused and scrunched his face up in thought. “If you were into dating other guys, how do you think your family would take it?”

Tanaka stopped to think before he answered.

“Saeko would take it well. Mum and Dad, I think they’d be okay with it as long as I told them at the right time.”

Noya just nodded understandingly.

“Well, you won’t have that problem anyway. You’re into all the girls,” Nishinoya said, winking across the table.

Tanaka paused at that. He wasn’t exactly straight. He never had to talk about feelings really, he mostly liked others aesthetically.

“About that,” Tanaka said. “I’m not really straight y’know.”

Noya frowned slightly and raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I never really liked anyone. I just look at everyone.”

The libero’s mouth fell open into an ‘o’ shape, and Tanaka could see all the gears turning in his head. Tanaka waited for his friend to speak again, though it seemed like the other was deep in thought now.

“So, you’re not picky with gender then?” Noya asked.

“Not really.”

“Wow Ryuu! That’s awesome! We need to celebrate this,” Noya said, a gleam in his eye the let Tanaka know exactly what he was thinking.

“This calls for ice cream and games,” he yelled.

* * *

 

“Aww man, why are you so good at this?” Tanaka whined. “Ennoshita was so much more fun to play against.”

Nishinoya grinned up at him from where he sat on the floor.

“You’re just bad at this!” He laughed.

“No I’m not!” Came Tanaka’s snappish response. “I beat Ennoshita in every race the other day! You’re cheating!”

Nishinoya kept laughing, dropping his controller in favour of clutching his sides. The pair were playing MarioKart, having already eaten half a tub of ice cream an hour earlier. They had only put the ice cream away when Saeko got home and told them they still had to eat dinner. Only the would they be allowed to finish the ice cream.

“Stop laughing ya idiot. The next race is about to start and I’m taking you down,” Tanaka roared.

The pair continued to play, not stopping until Tanaka finally won his third race. He howled in pleasure. Nishinoya laughed at the sight, as the shaven male tore of his shirt and started waving it around above his head.

“You only won three times out of like a hundred Ryuu,” Noya laughed. “You still suck at this game.”

Tanaka’s expression turned to a pout as he swung his shirt around to whip Noya in the chest. He only succeeded in making the libero laugh harder.

“Boys, dinners ready,” Saeko called from the kitchen.

“Food!”

Noya jumped up from where he was laughing, sprinting to the kitchen to eat. Tanaka stayed back just long enough to put his shirt back on before he followed to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, he saw his sister deep in playful conversation with Nishinoya. They seemed to be talking about Saeko’s new boyfriend. Apparently Noya had seen him out with her when he was hanging out with Asahi last weekend.

“He’s pretty Nee-san,” Noya was saying, earning a chuckle from the female.

“I know he is Yuu-chan.”

Tanaka narrowed his eyes to stare at the pair.

“How come I haven’t met this guy yet?” He asked, his eyes darting between them as he sat down to eat.

Saeko rolled her eyes at him.

“You never asked Ryuu,” she told him. “If you wanted to meet him, you could’ve told me.”

“Of course I want to meet him!” Tanaka said. “I have to make him fear me.”

Saeko let out a boisterous laugh.

“Sure thing Ryuu. Now sit down and eat your dinner will ya, I slaved on that for you,” she said before focusing her attention on Nishinoya again. “So, Yuu-chan, what’s happening in romance town for ya?”

Noya’s face turned bright red and he turned his face to stare at his meal. Saeko was chuckling at the sight, while Tanaka smirked at his friend’s misfortune. His amusement was short-lived though.

“Don’t you laugh Ryuu, I know about your little crush too!”

Tanaka spluttered.

“What crush?” He screeched.

Noya glanced over at him with a mouth full of food, curiosity shining in his eyes. Tanaka watched as Saeko grinned at the pair of them.

“Yeah, what crush? Ryuu hasn’t mentioned anything to me,” Noya said.

“Ah, ah, ah! You can’t get out of this so easy Yuu-chan. Now tell ol’ Saeko,” she said.

Noya sighed, clearly resigning himself to his fate. It’s not like you could keep anything a secret from Saeko for long.

“I wanna go,” Noya started, trailing off in an unintelligible mumble.

“What was that?” Saeko said, leaning closer.

“I wanna go out with Asahi,” he said quietly.

Saeko leaned back with a grin that stretched across her face. Nishinoya found a great interest in his meal again, poking at it with a finger. Tanaka looked at both of them with amusement.

“That’s great Yuu-chan! He’s that Ace of yours ain’t he?”

“Yeah.”

Saeko frowned.

“Are you okay Yuu-chan?”

Nishinoya nodded, but remained quiet. It took Tanaka a few moments to realise that this was how his friend had acted earlier in the food court. Quiet, detached and worried.

“Are you sure bro?” He found himself asking.

“Mm, yeah,” Noya said. “What’s this about Ryuu though? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Nishinoya looked betrayed at the idea that Tanaka would have a crush and not tell him. Tanaka could only stare at his sister. He was confused. He didn’t have a crush. Did she think he did because he’d been asking what it felt like last night?

“I don’t have one though,” he said.

Saeko raised her eyebrow at him and Nishinoya’s expression morphed into one of amusement.

“You do. Do you really not know?” She asked.

His sister looked concerned. Her eyebrows had scrunched into a frown and she was staring into his eyes intently.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, well then pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Nishinoya laughed at the siblings, and Tanaka quickly shoveled some of his meal into his mouth. He was not going to suffer at the expense of providing amusement for Noya and Saeko.

He finished eating as fast as he could before standing up and moving to wash the dishes. He refused to acknowledge Nishinoya or Saeko while they were in the room together. Soon though, Noya grabbed a tea towel to dry the dishes while Saeko put them away.

As they finished, Saeko bid the two boys a good night before disappearing into her bedroom again. Noya lead the way back to Tanaka’s bedroom too before rummaging through his bag of belongings until he had a small pile of clothes and a towel.

“I’m gonna have a shower,” he said as he made his way to the door. “I’ll be back in about 10 minutes.”

And then the small form had disappeared from sight, down the hallway. It left Tanaka no choice but to fall back down onto his bed, rubbing his hands over his face.

Noya wasn’t mad at him. He knew that, but something was bothering the other male. There was also the problem with what Saeko had been saying earlier too. He couldn’t have a crush on anyone. Sure, he didn’t know what it felt like to have a crush on someone, but he’d know if he did, right?

Perhaps he should ask for a second opinion on what a crush feels like. Or a third opinion even. He reached for his phone and opened a message.

 

To: Ennoshita

>Yo

>Do you know what it feels like to have a crush on someone?

 

Tanaka let out a sigh as he sent the message. He could hope for a reply to come soon, but Ennoshita was probably busy. He’d mentioned it was movie night with his father at some point, but there was still that spark of hope.

Tanaka could hear the water in the bathroom turn off, signaling that Nishinoya was finished. He moved, shuffling over to his drawers to find some comfortable clothes to relax in later in the evening.

He heard his phone go off on his bed and moved to read the message that had come through.

 

From: Ennoshita

>Yes, why?

 

Tanaka smiled and began to type a response.

 

To: Ennoshita

>What does it feel like?

 

As Tanaka finished typing the message and clicked send, Nishinoya came through the door with his hair dripping water down his face. The libero shot him a massive grin that encompassed his entire face.

“Your turn Ryuu!” He said, turning to fold and place his dirty clothes into the side pocket of his bag, away from the clean clothes he’d wear tomorrow.

“'Kay, I’ll be back,” he said, and wandered into the hallway.

* * *

 

From: Ennoshita

>It’s hard to explain.

>I suppose it’d be different for everyone though so what I say doesn’t have to apply to you.

>It’s subtle to start with. You find yourself getting protective of the other person and wanting to spend more time with them.

>You want to be there to remind them to look after themselves and relax from time to time.

>Then you start to think of ways you can impress them, or get to know them better.

>You take every opportunity to talk to them and sometimes go out of your way to help them.

>But eventually, you either come to the realisation that it would never work out or that the other person would never return your feelings.

>It’s a bit sad actually.

 

Tanaka smiled as he read the messages he’d received while he was in the shower. Ennoshita knew how to make him feel better, but at the same time. Your crush would never work out? The other person would never return your feelings? That sounded tough, and much like Ennoshita had given up on more than one occasion.

 

To: Ennoshita

>Don't sound like you give up on people so much.

>It’s awful.

 

Tanaka locked his phone, only to find Nishinoya staring at him thoughtfully.

“What?” He asked.

“Hm? Oh nothing, just thinkin’,” Noya replied with a grin.

Tanaka looked at the libero and narrowed his eyes. Something about that grin told him that whatever his friend was thinking, he did not want to know about it.

He heard his phones message tone ring out into the bedroom and unlocked his phone to read the new message.

 

From: Ennoshita

>It is. But I do.

>I’m not exciting, at all. It’s not like I’ll ever find someone who likes me.

 

Tanaka felt his heart ache in his chest. That was how Ennoshita saw himself? Unexciting and unlikely to ever find love? Tanaka could feel his features fall.

Ennoshita needed to have more confidence in himself. He was wonderful and Tanaka knew that. There was no reason why Ennoshita should’ve thought less of himself.

 

To: Ennoshita

>Why would you think that?

>You’ll definitely find someone nice.

 

When he looked up again, Noya had that same intent stare focused on his face. The shorter male seemed to be deep in thought. It was the look he’d had on his face periodically since Saeko had mentioned crushes. Noya didn’t really think he had a crush did he?

“Noya-san?” Tanaka started, gaining the other male’s attention. “You don’t actually believe that I have a crush do you?”

Noya smiled.

“I think you might.”

Tanaka frowned in frustration. He still didn’t have a solid idea of what a crush felt like. Perhaps he could ask Nishinoya. The libero did have a thing for their ace after all.

“Noya-san, what does it feel like to have a crush?” He questioned, earning a raised eyebrow from Noya.

“You don’t know?”

Tanaka shook his head.

“Nope, I’ve never had a crush on anyone. Not that I know of.”

“Well,” Noya sighed. “It’s different for everyone, but usually it comes with wanting to protect the other person. You’ll get tingly inside when you’re talking to them and you’ll never want to leave them. Sometimes you go through a period of denial when you’ve had your heart broken before, and sometimes you’ll accept it and move on. That part doesn’t really apply to you, but you also get really happy when the other person talks to you. As long as you have the other persons attention you feel happy.”

Tanaka looked at Noya with a sense of impending doom as his phone let out a loud ring.

 

From: Ennoshita

>Thanks Tanaka. Glad you think so.

 

He smiled at the message, but let the texts end there. Noya was smiling at him weirdly again.

“What?” He asked.

The libero smiled.

“Nothin’. You wanna get smashed in MarioKart again?”

“Oh you’re goin’ down.”


End file.
